Alberto Downgraded

At 5 AM EDT, Alberto's winds dropped below 39 mph, and we're now dealing with Tropical Depression Alberto. Before being downgraded, he brought tropical storm winds across northern Florida, coastal Georgia, and some of South Carolina. At the time of his downgrading, Alberto had 35 mph winds, and was located 35 miles SSW of Columbia. Alberto is running out of time as a tropical cyclone, but should have a notable "afterlife" as a large extratropical gale heading out across the Atlantic. Once Alberto gets back over water, he should be able to pick up some considerable baroclinic energy through interaction with a frontal system. This could bring his winds back up to around 60 mph over the open Atlantic, but by that time he would no longer be driven by his warm tropical core. This powerful mid-latitude system will then race across the Atlantic towards the Faeroe Islands, where it will bring strong winds and rain next Monday or Tuesday.